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On the anniversary of the death of Israels first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, IsraCast brings you Ben-Gurion's biography, two audio interviews from Canadian radio stations in the year 1961, and a transcript of highlights from the Decleration of Independence - read by him on May 14th, 1948.

Szenes was one of 37 Jews living in Palestine, now Israel, who were trained by the British army to parachute into Yugoslavia during World War II in order to help save the Jews of Hungary, who were about to be deported to the German death camp at Auschwitz. Szenes was arrested at the Hungarian border, imprisoned and tortured, but she refused to reveal details of her mission, and was eventually tried and executed by firing squad.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia, Hariri also said he feared for his life. And with good reason – in 2005 Hezbollah terrorists apparently assassinated his father Rafik Hariri, who then served as Prime Minister. Four Hezbollah suspects are being tried in absentia by the International Court in the Hague. The Hariri family is Sunni Muslim while Iran and Hezbollah are Shiite. But not only Lebanon is being threatened by Tehran. In Hariri's words:

'Iran is sowing fear and destruction in several Middle East countries'.

Yitzhak Rabin was murdered on November 4th, 1995 by a Jewish assassin, Yigal Amir. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel from 1974 until 1977 and again from 1992 until his assassination in 1995. Rabin played a leading role in the signing of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians and the peace treaty with Jordan, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize For Peace in 1994.
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Throughout the history Haifa bay served as a safe Port for ships in the Mediterranean sea. Benjamin Zeev Herzel recognized the potential and importance of the Port and city of Haifa in the new state, and the British Port was officially opened on October 31st, 1933.

Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evy was assassinated by two shots to the head outside his room at the Jerusalem Hyatt Hotel on October 17, 2001. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.

Prof. Ben-Zion Netanyahu passed away at his Jerusalem home, at the age of 102. Ben-Zion Netanyahu and his late wife Tzila, who passed away in 2000, had three sons – Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu, who was killed during Operation Yonatan in Entebbe; Benjamin, the Prime Minister of Israel; and Ido, a doctor, writer and playwright.
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It was not Israel's finest hour. State Comptroller Yosef Shapira has lambasted both Israel's political and military echelons for their conduct before and during the 'Protective Edge' military campaign against Hamas in Gaza in the summer of 2014. Sixty-eight Israelis and five civilians were killed in the war that was triggered by the Hamas kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz barely received a passing mark. They were all found to be at fault for their failure to prepare to deal with the tunnels dug by Hamas under the border into Israel that cost many Israeli lives.

This is a recent sensational headline carried in the international media, an example of how many foreign experts tend to completely misread Israel. The analysis was carried by the Huffington Post and written by Alastair Crooke, 'a former MI-6 agent', the British equivalent of the CIA or Mossad. Crooke bases his conclusions on a recent presentation by IDF Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, the commander of the IDF Intelligence Branch. This was a key sentence by the General:

"I'm going to say this with all due caution, but there has never been an army (IDF) that knows so much about its enemy as we know about Hezbollah. But still, the next war will not be simple, it will not be easy."

Surprise, surprise! President Obama, Secretary Kerry and senior adviser Ben Rhodes were all lying through their teeth over the Iranian nuclear deal. The only surprising thing is that Rhodes didn't even wait until after the Obama administration leaves office in January. On the contrary, Rhodes revels in how he and the rest of the administration turned the Washington press corps into an 'echo chamber' for the administration's spiel, without checking out the facts. In effect, Rhodes, in a mind-meld with Obama, lied to the American people, the US Congress, and the entire world.

A ceasefire to halt the carnage in a bloody civil war should be a welcome event. But this is not likely in Syria. Two of the most vicious combatants, Daesh and Jabhat al Nusra (an affiliate of al Qaeda) are not even party to it, and Russia has forewarned that it will react with force to any violations by the rebels who seek to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. And after President Putin sent in his airborne 'cavalry' to save Assad by bombing just about anything that moved, the Syrian tyrant is firmly in place in his presidential palace in Damascus.

It's no holds barred, almost. In the current clash between the Obama Administration and Israel, both sides are pulling out all the stops. Secretary John Kerry has now warned that if the U.S. Senate blocks the deal it will trigger a devaluation of the U.S. dollar. Washington will hold her to account. Bear in mind that a majority of U.S. Senators also believe the Iranians have 'fleeced' Kerry and President Barack Obama.

It is the IDF's biggest build-up along the Syrian-Lebanese frontier since the Second Lebanon war in 2006. And with very good reason; according to foreign reports, an Israeli rocket attack killed Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of the Hezbollah's former Chief of Staff and Iranian General Muhammad Allahdadi. Ten other Iranian and Hezbollah fighters also died in the targeted killing. Jihad was obviously out to avenge the mysterious assassination of his famous father, Imad, in Damascus in 2008. Since then Hezbollah has been biding its time, warning it will make Israel pay for the killing of Mughniyeh senior.

It was highly significant that U.S. President Barack Obama selected West Point as the venue to articulate his foreign and military policy. Without saying it in so many words Obama sent a message loud and clear - America has abdicated its role of 'policeman of the world'. Obama has jettisoned the projection of American military power that characterized his predecessor George W. Bush. Addressing the graduating cadets, their commander-in-chief told them: “The U.S. will use military force, unilaterally if necessary, when our core interests demand it - when our people are threatened, when our livelihoods are at stake; when the security of our allies is in danger.” But his punch line related to global issues that do not directly threaten the U.S.: "Then the threshold of military action must be much higher. In such circumstances, we should not go it alone. Instead, we must mobilize allies and partners to take collective action." The truth is this has been a cornerstone of Obama's policy of 'leading from behind' in the Middle East, as exemplified by the crises in Libya and currently in Syria. Clearly, Obama's refusal to make good on his warning that Assad would face the consequences if he repeated his use of chemical weapons has actually tipped the scales in favor of the regime against the rebels.

The past week started with Holocaust Memorial Day and yet again the profound horror and amazement over the Nazi massacre of six million Jewish babies, children, women and men. The vast majority were defenseless and with no one to defend them. The tales of terror told by the survivors who bore witness were paralyzing: crying infants being torn from the arms of their screaming mothers at Auschwitz, of children seeing their parents being beaten and shot before their very eyes. At the memorial service at the Western Wall, President Shimon Peres told of how his beloved grandfather and other relatives, along with the rest of the Jews in his town, were herded into the local synagogue where the doors were locked behind them and then the building was burnt to the ground. The sirens wailed for them and Israelis, with heads bowed, stood at attention.

What connection is there between Israel's battle for survival and the current crisis between North Korea and the U.S. on the other side of the world? The Jewish state has paid a heavy price, over 23,000 fallen soldiers in order to preserve its independence and prevent its annihilation. Analyst David Essing sees a link between America's resolution of the North Korean crisis and whether Israel may have to go it alone against Iran.

Israel has paid tribute to the 22,864 of Israelis who have fallen in defense of the state. The sirens wailed for two minutes - and the people paused throughout the land, to stand with heads bowed to remember those who had given their all in protecting the Jewish homeland. Since last Memorial Day, the Iranian nuclear threat has loomed larger - by next Remembrance Day, an Iranian nuclear capability could be a fact of life or, whatever. IsraCast analyst David Essing assesses the major issues on Israel's national agenda as the Jewish state enters its sixty-second year of independence.